Attacks on Jewish community highlight why all houses of worship need more protection

A Chicago man was recently charged with threatening to "shoot up" a synagogue." For Jewish communities, this is not just another headline. It is a reminder that without serious investment in security, our institutions remain vulnerable.

At North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, where I serve as senior rabbi, we gather for connection and community. But like synagogues across the Chicago area, we do so knowing our safety cannot be taken for granted. We plan, train and coordinate with law enforcement. Still, the sense of security we have built can feel fragile.

Recent events underscore why. Synagogues abroad have been attacked with gunfire and explosives. Closer to home, an assailant targeted a synagogue near Detroit while 140 children were inside. That attack did not become a tragedy in large part because of strong security measures already in place.

Jewish Americans are living with this reality every day. Parents think carefully about safety at schools. Congregants pay closer attention to entrances and exits. They do so because we have seen what happens when threats become reality. We’ve seen Jews murdered in synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, at a Jewish community center in Kansas, at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey and outside of a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C.

The pattern is clear. Rhetoric escalates, followed by threats, and too often, violence. The question is not whether Jewish institutions are at risk, but rather whether we are doing enough to protect them.

The federal Nonprofit Security Grant program is one of the most effective tools we have to prevent such tragedies. It funds cameras, reinforced doors and other critical protections. But each year, many more institutions apply for these grants than receive them. This means that synagogues across Illinois are left exposed because the funding is insufficient.

This is not only a Jewish issue. Churches, mosques and other houses of worship rely on this program as well. Protecting them is about upholding the basic American promise of safe and free religious life.

Congress should expand funding for this program and ensure funds are delivered quickly. Prevention depends on preparation. We cannot wait for the next attack to act.

Rabbi Michael Schwab, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park

Drug pricing program straying from mission

Every day, I prescribe lifesaving medications for complex autoimmune diseases. The federal 340B Drug Pricing program was designed to ensure that cost was never a barrier to these types of medications for uninsured or underinsured individuals.

That’s why I support its original mission.

But from where I sit in a community-based practice, it’s clear the program is no longer operating as intended, and what’s happening should alarm anyone who wants to see it preserved.

The 340B program allows certain safety net hospitals and clinics known as “covered entities” to purchase eligible medications at steep discounts, bill payers the full price and keep the margin. The intent was to help these entities “stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services,” according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

But over the last decade, 340B has grown significantly in Illinois, from 34 covered entities in 2010 to 114 today. That’s more than half of Illinois hospitals.

At the same time, its footprint has expanded well beyond traditional safety net settings. Nearly half of Illinois 340B entities and contract pharmacies are now located in higher-income areas, far from the areas where they are needed most. Why? Because insurance reimbursements are generally higher, this means more 340B revenue for the covered entity.

The biggest problem is the lack of transparency into how 340B revenue is used. While many hospitals point to broader financial pressures, patients and policymakers alike deserve a clearer understanding of how 340B revenue is supporting access to care for our most vulnerable. This is especially true because state and employer health plans lose rebates on 340B drugs, which contributes to rising health care costs for employers and taxpayers across Illinois.

At the same time, our independent practices, which are often the most accessible and cost-effective sites of care, face mounting financial pressure without access to the same purchasing advantages. As care shifts into hospital systems, patients frequently encounter higher out-of-pocket costs.

None of this diminishes the importance of 340B. It underscores the need to ensure it is working as intended.

Illinois lawmakers should take a step back before advancing legislation that would lock in the program’s flaws. Instead, they should take a closer look at how 340B is functioning today, examine who benefits — and who bears the cost — and pursue targeted reforms that strengthen transparency, accountability and patient access.

That is how we preserve this program for the patients who need it most.

Dr. Erin Arnold, Skokie

Right under the president’s nose

When President Donald Trump secured his funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he promised they would go after “the worst of the worst,” but he hasn't been able to find very many of those. Of course! They are all hiding in plain sight, in his Cabinet.

Bob Chicoine, Brookfield

Be fair to Fox News

I really enjoyed the story and the excellent way in which Ellery Jones used humor to get her point across about being mixed up with her fellow transgender colleague. But (there it is: that inevitable, pesky, qualifying but), it seems only fair that when one references "misleading Fox News articles," one should give at least one example of a misleading article. Fair, however, does not seem to be in the lexicon of the mainstream news media these days. Thank you to Ms. Jones, though, for keeping Fox News in the public eye.

Sherry Szilage Stoffel, North Aurora